Pierre Gasly has poured fuel on the rumours of a move to Alpine after footage emerged of him discussing a "contract".
AlphaTauri have previously said they plan on keeping the Frenchman in 2023, after which his current deal will expire. But the driver has made it clear that he is considering his options with a second shot at a Red Bull seat off the table for now.
The sister team's struggles this season may have only strengthened his desire to leave. And, amid the confusion over Oscar Piastri's future, it has been suggested Alpine could bring him in to create an all-French line-up with Esteban Ocon.
Alpine are still waiting on the verdict of the Contracts Recognition Board, which is deciding whether or not their contract with Piastri supersedes the one he has signed with rivals McLaren. In case of a verdict not favourable to them, it appears they have been pursuing an alternative option.
Gasly does not have a great relationship with Ocon, but it seems they could be about to put that rift aside to work together. In footage captured by Ferrari cameras and posted on their YouTube channel, Gasly can be heard talking to George Russell and Charles Leclerc, telling them: "I'm still working on the final details of the contract."
The driver did not specify that the contract negotiations were with Alpine, but it seems likely considering the strength of the reports linking him with the Enstone outfit. As he still has a year with AlphaTauri, they would need to pay a fee to convince them to cancel that contract.
But Red Bull's Christian Horner appears to be open to allowing that to happen, telling Sky Sports: "Pierre is still a Red Bull Racing contracted driver until the end of next season. But of course we've got a contract with Checo Perez for the next couple of years. Max Verstappen is on a long term contract.
"We have to consider all possibilities. Of course until they fix what is going on with the contract recognition side, everything else is just purely speculative."
